Watanobbi | Unfortunate Place Name

Find My Past genealogy website announced the 2012 winner of Australias Unfortunate Place Name goes to Watanobbi in NSW.

Disappointing news for Poowong in Victoria, after the locale missed out on a coveted spot in the most unfortunate place names list released by the Find My Past genealogy website.

No luck, either, for Tittybong and Chinamans Knob hill because top spot went to Watanobbi in NSW.

Hard to argue with that.

A selection of fine overseas spots made the grade in the UK, such as Shitterton in Dorset, Brokenwind in Aberdeenshire and Ugley in Essex. The US never disappoints, leading with Toad Suck in Arkansas, Climax in Georgia and Hooker in Oklahoma.

Watanobbi

Watanobbi is part of the Wyong Shire local government area, Warnervale development precinct.

Many believe the names origin was Aboriginal, with the Wyong Shire originally claiming it meant "hills surrounded by water", the Geographic Names Board later confirmed there was no Aboriginal significance to the name, with the two most likely sources being a corruption of the Japanese surname Watanabe, ascribed to a friend of well-travelled pioneer Albert Warner, or a comment made by early landowner Allan Chapman about the "nobby"shape of the surrounding terrain, have been suggested. Landowners, claiming they were the butt of rude jokes and that the suburbs house prices had remained static relative to other areas, attempted unsuccessfully to have the name changed to Chapman Gardens in early 2002.

Where is Watanobbi? Its roughly 94klm north of Syndey aup the F3 Sydney-Newcastle Freeway/National Highway.